March 14, 2007
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NEWS: Macon-Atlanta State Bank Reaches for STARMacon-Atlanta State Bank, the Georgia financial institution that is the primary lender for agriculture and real estate in the area of the state capital, has inked a deal with First Data Corp to incorporate its debit cards under the STAR network of ATMs. Macon-Atlanta State Bank was one of the first in the state to offer its accountholders debit cards, and bank representatives state that they believe strongly that the switch will be positive for customers.
Along with the electronic commerce and payments deal signed with First Data Corp, the bank will also be picking up on fraud prevention services offered by the company, with the intention of protecting the bank's customers, and raising its profile in the community. First Data's Fraud Risk Identification Service (FRIS) is designed to cut down significantly on loss by picking out potentially fraudulent patterns among card transactions. The bank will also be using First Data's CV verification tools, which encode a specific numeric value into the card's magnetic strip to minimize loss from "phishing," or other crimes where the perpetrator doesn't actually have the card in hand.
The STAR network serves more than 5,500 financial institutions, and will provide Macon-Atlanta State Bank debit card holders with access to over 2 million ATM and retail locations. The bank's customers join over 158 million STAR network cardholders nationwide.